Rizotto reboots to casual side, adds sweets shop

The Rizzo restaurant group has rebooted Rizotto, its fine-dining restaurant on Maple Road.

Now named Rizotto Italian Eatery & Sweetery, the restaurant at 930 Maple Road reopened in January with a new look.

"We redid the whole place," said Mike Rizzo, head of MPR Restaurants, which include Bianchetti by Rizzo's and and Schnitzel & Co. locations on Transit Road in East Amherst and Eggert Road in Tonawanda. "We got rid of the carpeting, got rid of the white tablecloths. We made it a little more comfortable and a little more trendy."

But the changes are more than cosmetic, he said. Rizotto has added a dessert option for the neighborhood, with a standalone sweets operation.

"We have a dessert café in the back where we're doing gelato, crepes, Italian cookies and more desserts," Rizzo said.

It will also offer grab-and-go Italian meals for people in a hurry. Rizzo, who converted Rizzo's on Eggert Road to another German-centered Schnitzel & Co. in October, said the changes were part of the company's efforts to meet customer needs.